


Annie & Pepper 2: Breakfast (SFW PDF Bonus)

by Ebhenah



Series: Fall Into You- Shance Anthology [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Amputee Shiro (Voltron), Canon LGBTQ Male Character, College Student Lance (Voltron), Established Relationship, Fall Into You, Fluff, Keith & Shiro (Voltron) are Foster Siblings, Keith & Shiro (Voltron) are co-workers, M/M, Meeting the Family, Misunderstanding, Modern AU, Neighbors, Next Steps, Queer Lance (Voltron), Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Veteran Shiro (Voltron), Youth Worker Keith, Youth Worker Shiro, introductions, it all works out, queer Shiro (Voltron), shance, shiro can't cook
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:41:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23885413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ebhenah/pseuds/Ebhenah
Summary: When his new boyfriend, Shiro, invites Lance over for dinner to meet Keith, the closest thing Shiro has to family, Lance's nerves get the better of him just a little bit.
Relationships: Hunk & Lance (Voltron), Keith & Lance (Voltron), Keith & Shiro (Voltron), Lance/Shiro (Voltron), Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: Fall Into You- Shance Anthology [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1721440
Comments: 2
Kudos: 60





	Annie & Pepper 2: Breakfast (SFW PDF Bonus)

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Fall Into ~~You~~ The Unknown, the PDF Bonus for [Fall Into You](https://twitter.com/talesofshance) [Shance anthology](https://talesofshance.tumblr.com/), which was spearheaded by the wonderful [Seki](https://twitter.com/rustdustshuffle). 
> 
> As always, I'm hugely grateful to [Punk](https://twitter.com/PunkInGlitter) for acting as beta for me again.

The end of the semester was close enough that everyone was bemoaning their workload, but still far enough away that no one really felt like they didn’t have time to hang out and unwind. Friday, by careful design, was Lance’s lightest day in terms of courses. He only had two classes: one at ten am, and one at two pm. At first he’d grumbled about the big gap, and then he’d realized that it meant he got to hang out with his school buddies when he didn’t have work to do, and gave him plenty of library time when he did. It worked especially well now that he was dating Shiro because it meant more free time on the weekends to spend together.

Shiro’s Fridays were also a bit lighter than the rest of his week. There were fewer activities on Fridays for the kids, since a lot of them had weekend jobs. So, the end of the week for  _ his boyfriend _ (God, he loved being able to call him that!) was mostly meetings and paperwork. Lots of time for cute, flirty texting back and forth between- whatever the heck Shiro’s meetings were about. The conversation at the bustling table faded from his focus when he heard the start of “Sidekick” by Walk The Moon. He couldn’t help the smitten smile he knew bloomed on his face as he dug out his phone, checking the message. 

“Annnnnnnnnnd we’ve lost him,” teased Hunk, earning a kick under the table from Lance.

“What?” That was Shay, who was new to their little group.

“Oh, right, you missed out on the  _ saga _ of the dreamboat neighbor!” Hunk laughed, “the rest of us have heard alllll about how cute and sweet and kind and funny and stupidly hot this guy is for months now.”

“Awww, that’s sweet! He sounds very crush-worthy!”

“Not a crush,” Lance mumbled, opening a selfie of Shiro pouting in front of an out of order coffee machine and turning his phone so Shay could see the screen. “He’s my boyfriend.”

“Very handsome,” she said, nodding approvingly. “How long have you been together?”

“Um… a few weeks…”

“He says that like he’s not keeping track, but he’s definitely keeping track. I guarantee you he knows down to the hour!”

“Shut-up Hunk! You make me sound like- oh… my God! Hunk! Hunk! Read this!” Fighting panic, he shoved the phone in his best friend’s face.

“Woah-okay! Geez!” Pointedly taking the phone out of Lance’s hand and lowering it to a sensible reading distance, Hunk skimmed the page. “You have the weirdest chat names… Sweeney Todd? Really?!?! You know he kills her in that play, right? Alright… some guy named K wants to meet you? I’m not seeing what the big deal is, bud…”

“Yes, really! Sweeney Todd! It’s not that I think we are them… just… It’s not about that… the movie is just  _ significant _ for us, okay? Annnnd ‘K’, is Keith. Keith his best friend. Keith who works with him. Keith who is basically the only family he has. Keith who is coming over  _ tonight _ and wants to meet me! That’s what the big deal is!”

“Oooh- meeting the best friend-slash-family! Okay, yeah… that’s kind of a big deal! You’ll be fine,” Hunk reassured, “Shiro’s known you for months, dude. He’s not going anywhere, even if this Keith guy hates you.”

“That’s not real helpful, Hunk! He’s closer to Keith than anyone- I don’t want him to _ hate _ me!”

“Okay, okay,” Shay caught his hand, her expression kind and gentle, “calm down. You guys knew each other for a while before you got together?”

“Yeah. We’ve been friends since… like right after I moved in.”

“Mmmhmmm… and how much did you hang out?”

“Uhhh… a few times a week, I guess? Why?”

She patted his hand, “this Keith guy already knows all about you. Relax.”

“How do you know that? You don’t know that! You can’t know that!” Shaking his head, Hunk slid the phone back to him as he slowly fell apart.

“I know that because Hunk and all your friends know all about him- and someone you describe as ‘cute and sweet and kind’ who is close to  _ one _ person has definitely told that one person all about his new boyfriend. This is just a formality. You’re fine.”

Just like that, his panic evaporated. She was right. She was  _ so _ right. “Yeah,” he nodded, breathing starting to return to normal. “It’ll be fine. We’re all adults. I’ll pop over, we’ll hang out for a while. It’ll be nice. Thanks, Shay! You are like… magic! I  _ like _ you!”

“Told’ja she was awesome,” Hunk laughed.

“Not magic,” she demurred, blushing, “just a psych student.”

“Magic,” he insisted, rereading the message from Shiro. Taking a breath, he responded.

**Lovett Lance- sure sounds fun**

**Shiro Todd- great I’ll let K know**

**Lovett Lance- should I bring anything other than my sexy self?**

**Shiro Todd- u don’t have to but I know u so… beer?**

**Lovett Lance- I never show up 4 a meal empty-handed!!**

**Shiro Todd- I know babe**

**Lovett Lance- c u at 7 then**

**Shiro Todd- can’t wait**

**Lovett Lance- miss your face**

**Shiro Todd- same just a few more hours though**

**Lovett Lance- then we get 2 hang out all night ;)**

**Shiro Todd- sounds pretty perfect 2 me**

**Shiro Todd- I’ll make breakfast**

**Shiro Todd- gtg meeting about 2 start**

Lance stared at the screen, heart in his throat. Breakfast. Shiro said he’d make  _ breakfast _ . “Hunnnnk!” He nearly screeched, thrusting the phone across the table at his friend again. Sure, things had been going well with him and Shiro… and they’d been close for a long time before they got together. It wasn’t really a typical situation. 

They hadn’t really done the first date, second date, thing. After the night they’d kissed for the first time, they’d been a  _ thing _ . A couple. Boyfriends. And Lance  _ loved _ that, he really did. He loved that they had fallen for each other in such a low stakes, easy way. He loved that once things changed there hadn’t been any of that panic inducing awkwardness of how much to share on dates, how long to wait before texting, how not to appear too clingy, or too invested, or too uninterested. Before they’d even kissed they’d already nursed one another through hangovers and bouts of the flu. They’d shared all their embarrassing stories over wine and laughter. They’d opened up and built up a lot of trust. 

Becoming a couple had been almost effortless. A short burst of terrifying nerves, followed by some giddy, scorching kisses, and a very clear, unanimous decision. They belonged together. 

Sure, sometimes he felt like he had to pinch himself, because there were moments when It felt like Shiro was just so far out of his league that this all had to be a dream. But then he’d call, or text- complaining about the little irritations of his day and asking for Lance’s advice on how to deal with it and gushing about how Lance amazed him. Or Lance would catch him staring and he’d blush and mumble something about being lucky before kissing him breathless. Or he’d go on a forty five minute rant about “The Phantom Menace” that reminded Lance of the extreme levels of dorkiness hidden behind that handsome face and near-perfect body. One of those things would happen and he’d remember that Shiro was his most favorite, wonderful, but flawed and very human, person ever, and he was honest and genuine, and he made sure that Lance knew that he felt the same way about him. 

They took their relationship seriously. They treated it like it was precious (because it was)... and that meant, for them, that they hadn’t pushed the physical stuff very far. They savored it; letting it unfold the same, slow, natural way the emotional side of things had done. So, while it was very, very clear where they were headed, and it was pretty obvious that it was something they were both looking forward to- so far, things had stayed pretty PG. They’d talked about that changing soon, but…  _ breakfast _ ! 

Holy shit.

Hunk was smirking at him, “alright, dude. Fine- I will switch shifts with you so you can do breakfast in bed with the new boyfriend. Just make sure you get there on time on Sunday or Coran will nag me all week.”

“That’s not- I mean… thanks, but I wasn’t-” he couldn’t seem to make his mouth form the right words.

“See? He’s not even worried about you and his friend, brother… guy… getting along,” Shay offered up helpfully as she stood. “But we’ve got to go or we’ll be late for class, Hunk.”

  
“Crap! You’re right!” Hunk tossed his phone back to him, grabbing his backpack and following after Shay. “Have fuuuuun tonight Lancey!”

* * *

The whole afternoon and early evening had been a blur. He’d tried to cram as much coursework and studying into his free time as possible, then hit the gym to burn off excess nerves, then raced home to get ready. He’d been a bundle of nerves when he’d thrown together a basic overnight bag. 

Technically, since they lived across the hall from one another, he didn’t really need to have a bag… but it helped settle his nerves, so he did it. It wasn’t much- just, basic supplies, not even a change of clothes for the morning. There was just something soothing about having his own stuff on hand, and soothing was something he needed at the moment.

Standing in front of Shiro’s door, he took a breath and knocked. Almost immediately, he heard Shiro scolding Pepper in Japanese and he couldn’t help but smile. He could see it so clearly in his mind. Pepper coiling around Shiro’s feet, her attention captured by the noise in the hall and the changes of the light and shadows in the crack between the floor and the bottom edge of the door. Shiro doing his very best to look and sound stern as he tried to herd her back into the living room… his defeated sigh right before he picked up the cat and opened the door.

“Well, hello gorgeous,” Lance cooed, at ease for the first time in hours. He scratched the fluffy cat behind her white ear, earning a purr. Tipping his chin up, he kissed Shiro softly, “and hi to you, too, handsome.”

“Should I be worried that I get called ‘handsome’ but my cat gets ‘gorgeous’?” Shiro asked, leaning against the doorframe and quirking one dark eyebrow at him in a way that made Lance’s pulse jump.

All trace of nerves obliterated by the proximity to his boyfriend, Lance’s smile turned flirty. His voice pitched differently as he leaned into Shiro’s larger frame, going all soft and husky, “aww… I’m pretty sure you don’t have to worry. I heard that your boyfriend is pretty smitten with you.”

“Yeah?” His grey eyes sparkled with interest as his head dipped down for another kiss. “Is that so?”

“Mmmhmmm…” Lance hummed into the soft brush of lips against lips that left him tingling.

“I’m pretty smitten with him, too…”

“I swear to God, Shiro- if you burn the food because you are flirting in the doorway, I’m banning you from cooking ever again!” A voice called from inside the apartment.

Sighing, Shiro rolled his eyes, “hey, guess what? Keith’s here!”

“Already?” He hadn’t expected that.

“He gave me a ride. We stopped by the market after work and since he was coming over anyway,” Shiro shrugged, stepping back from the door to let Lance into the apartment.

“Makes sense,” Lance answered, toeing off his shoes.

“Keith, this is Lance. Lance, say hi to Keith!” Pepper leaped out of Shiro’s arms and ran back to the living room. Lance heard the new voice coo and babble at her. This Keith person was smart enough to recognize that Pepper was the second best cat in the world (with Annie being the best, and his family’s four cats tying for third place, obviously), so that boded well. 

Lance dropped the backpack he’d thrown his stuff in and held out the case of beer. “I picked up a sampler from that microbrewery over by campus- Alchemy Brews. So, there’s four different kinds of beer…” He thought for a second, not wanting to forget any of them, “there’s a stout, a double IPA, an English Porter, and… uhh… Oh! Bumbleberry Blonde!”

“Oh yeah- I know the place. Romelle and her girlfriend run it. Good beer.”

“Yeah, Allura, she used to be my-” He trailed off as he finally got a look at Shiro’s best friend and realised... he knew him. “ _ You! _ You’re… but…” Confusion swamped him, making him trip over his words.

“I’m what?” Keith asked, his face closing off right before Lance’s eyes as he tugged the case of beer out of Lance’s grip and propped it on his hip.

Lance cycled through what he knew about Keith through Shiro. They’d met when they’d both ended up in the same foster home for a few months right before Shiro aged out of the system and joined the military and had kept in touch. Keith had been the one to help Shiro put his life back together after the accident that had cost him his arm and earned him a medical discharge. Then later, Keith had gotten a job in the same Youth At Risk program as Shiro. No mention of fencing... although… shit… Shiro had said Keith had gotten a full ride sports scholarship when he’d earned his degree in social work… a full ride  _ fencing _ scholarship, it seemed. The one Lance had worked his ass off to qualify for, for years. 

“You’re Keith Kogane…” Lance muttered, doing his best to tamp down the resentment and anger. “From Blades of Marmora.”

“My old fencing team? Yeah- that’s me… wait- you look kind of familiar…”

“Lance? Lance McClain? From Royal Altea?” Did this guy seriously not know who he was?? They’d jokeyed for top rank in the city for  _ years _ ! They’d been bona fide  _ rivals _ !

“Ohhhh yeah… I kinda remember you now! You were a year behind me or something, right?”

“Yes,” Lance ground out. That was precisely the issue! Keith Kogane was a year older than him. He knew this because the years that had Keith bumping up a competition level were the ones where Lance made top ranks for his category. They never should have been vying for the scholarship in the same year! Lance had been  _ sure  _ he’d had that scholarship locked down… he’d been so proud of himself for making sure that his parents wouldn’t have to sacrifice and scrape to pay for his school- because they refused to let their children get saddled with student loan debt. He’d been so certain, and they’d been so relieved. He could see it in their faces… and then… it had gone to Keith Kogane of the Blades of Marmora.

“Yeah… okay, yeah. I remember you now. You were good. Do you still fence?”

He shook his head. He hadn’t picked up a sabre in years, didn’t even follow the sport anymore. A lot of factors had combined to create that situation, but he wasn’t in any rush to hash that out with this guy, of all people. “No time,” he said, instead. Which, to be honest, was true enough. Between work, his family, school, Annie, and his social life there was no way he’d be able to keep up with fencing, even recreationally. “You?”

Keith shrugged one shoulder, “kinda… it’s a good workout, and I’m still pretty close with Kolivan and Thace down at Marmora.”

“I can see that. The coaches make such a difference, right? If Allura was still at Royal Altea, I might have stuck with it a bit longer.”

“Keith? Can you get started on the bacon?” Shiro asked from the kitchen. 

Keith’s eyes widened, “I can if it means you won’t!” 

Despite his soured mood, Lance had to chuckle at that a little. There was a reason he’d started inviting Shiro to join him for meals so often. The man was good at so many things, but cooking was not one of them. “I can help, too,” he offered, trying to shift his focus to his boyfriend who was trying to do something that was definitely outside of his comfort zone.

“The kitchen might be a bit crowded,” Shiro answered. Despite living in the same building, their apartments were quite different. Shiro’s was a two bedroom with a small galley-style kitchen and a courtyard-facing balcony off of the living room. Lance’s was a one bedroom with a full-sized kitchen and windows that faced the street. Three grown men would be a very tight squeeze in the tiny space Shiro had for food prep. “I can pass you the stuff for the table, though- if you don’t mind setting it?”

“Pfft! If I don’t mind setting the table. Of course I don’t! I’m happy to help!”

Shiro’s face lit up and Lance felt heat coil in his gut, because  _ damn _ his boyfriend was just… heartbreaker gorgeous. “Thanks, sweetheart.”

“Sweetheart???”

“Shut-up Keith!”

“No… no, it’s cute. You call your boyfriend ‘sweetheart’, that’s precious. You are such a sap.”

“I said, shut-up Keith.” Face red, Shiro passed a stack of plates over the counter to him.

It was cute. Lance loved it when Shiro was cute with him, and he refused to let Keith spoil it. “Thanks, Sugar Lips,” he answered, really ramping up the cutesy-ness of the name. Shiro’s eyebrow shot up in silent question and Lance shrugged. 

“Oh great- you’re _ both _ saps!” Keith’s grumbling didn’t seem to have any bite to it, so Lance let his hackles settle back down.

“How was class?” Shiro asked when Lance doubled back for the cutlery. They made small talk about his day while Lance set the table and nimbley avoided Pepper, who was vying for attention by weaving around Lance’s feet. 

He was so distracted by the conversation and the cat that it wasn’t until he set the yogurt on the table that he realized it was an odd combination of condiments for dinner. Butter, yogurt, jam, marmalade, and maple syrup weren’t exactly standard fare for an evening meal. They were much better suited to…  _ ohhh… oh  _ **_no!_ ** “Babe? What are we eating tonight?”

“The only thing Keith lets me cook,” Shiro answered, given Lance exactly no information whatsoever.

“Japanese style fluffy pancakes,” Keith supplied, “they’re cooked in his rice cooker- which has a timer with an automatic shut off. So even  _ he _ can’t burn them!”

“And bacon,” Lance added, realization washing over him like ice water. “Breakfast for dinner.”

“Yeah. I thought I’d mentioned that. Did I not mention it?”

“Um…” Face burning with a blush, Lance turned away from his boyfriend and crouched down, busying himself with paying attention to Pepper. “You might have… must have slipped my mind.” Oh, he was an idiot. An absolute idiot!  _ Of course _ he’d meant breakfast for dinner and not  _ breakfast _ breakfast! There’s no way Shiro would have been so vague and off-handed about such a huge step in their relationship! Why had he ever thought otherwise?

This night was  _ not _ going well! First, Keith, Shiro’s best-friend-slash-closest-thing-to-family turned out to be  _ Keith Kogane _ , aka the closest thing Lance had to an enemy. Then, the guy didn’t even  _ recognize _ him! And now that he had crossed paths with him again, knowing a bit more about his past, Lance felt like shit for ever resenting him getting the scholarship. Seriously! The guy was an orphan, who’d grown up in the system and based on the way Shiro talked  _ around _ some things, probably had a really crappy time of it. He did know from Shiro that Keith had ended up a year behind schedule for graduating because of missing so much time after his Dad died- so… yeah… Lance was feeling pretty scummy about that whole thing… and _ then  _ the guy gets a degree is social work? And works in the Youth At Risk Program? Lance had been begrudging  _ that guy  _ his scholarship?!? All because, why, exactly?? Because his  _ two _ healthy, living, working, supportive, loving parents refused to let him get a loan for his education? He felt so ungrateful and selfish. Ugh.

And, then, on top of all that: Breakfast for Dinner. Why had he ever jumped to any other conclusion in the first place!?!? Like he was some kind of over-eager, hormone-addled high school kid, instead of a grown man who had made the conscious choice to take things slow with a relationship he put a lot of importance on. 

Stellar night for Lance. Yup. Just great.

* * *

The meal actually turned out okay. Keith wasn’t exactly a talkative guy, but he seemed to get a kick out of flustering Shiro, so Lance got treated to quite a few fun stories about their younger years, and even a couple about work. Shiro, to his credit, mainly just grumbled into his glass and rolled his eyes, his cheeks and ears sometimes going the cutest shade of pink.

The pancakes were delicious and novel. Lance had never had such thick, fluffy pancakes in his life! He was hooked and kept gushing to Shiro about how delicious they were- partly because it was true, but mostly because each and every compliment made Shiro scrunch his nose as he demurred and then lean over the table to give him a quick, little kiss… and Lance was way, way, way too gone on his boyfriend not to take full advantage of that!

It was during one of those quick little nose-scrunch-maple-flavored-kiss interludes that Keith, apparently having run out of patience, collected the dishes and brought them to the kitchen. “Thanks for coming over tonight,” Shiro whispered, “I know I kind of sprang it on you.”

“Probably best, really,” he whispered back, “didn’t have enough time to go into a full panic spiral.” 

“Aww… nothing to panic over, sweetheart,” cooed Shiro, “just one grumpy pain in the ass.”

Lance laughed at the description, “have you ever actually been to one of his fencing events? Because I’ve faced off against him- he’s frighteningly good with a blade.”

“You have?” Shiro sat up in surprise, “Keith! You didn’t tell me you knew Lance!”

“We were literally talking about it when you- were… completely paranoid about burning the food in the kitchen. Nevermind, you definitely weren’t paying any attention to us.”

“Because I didn’t,” Keith replied, setting a plate of fruit and sweet dip on the table for them to share. “Faced off against him at events- that’s not the same as knowing someone. Besides, you try, but whenever I talk about fencing your eyes start to glaze over.”

“That’s not true!”

Keith rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he smirked at Lance, “you ever try to talk to him about fencing? The technical stuff?”

“No… I don’t really think much about it anymore.” He rested his hand on Shiro’s knee, giving it a little squeeze, “I’m not sure it has ever come up.”

“Shiro, relax. Whenever you could, you showed up to cheer me on. That’s more than anyone else ever did. It’s okay that you aren’t into it.”

“You went to events?” Lance asked, “you might have actually seen me compete! I mean, you wouldn’t have paid me any attention, because I was a stranger, but… wild- what a small world.”

“Missed connections.”

“I like how we met,” Lance replied, swiping a melon wedge through the dip. “I like our story.”

“Me too, sweetheart.”

“It definitely suits you two,” snickered Keith, “downright saccharine.” Shiro had reached his limit for getting tormented, it seemed. Lance felt the muscles in his thigh tense as he kicked his leg out, knocking Keith’s chair and making him squawk in surprise. “Alright! Geez! I take it back. It’s not saccharine! Happy?”

“Very,” Shiro answered, popping a strawberry into his mouth with a smug grin. “What time do you work tomorrow?”

“I don’t. Hunk switched shifts with me.” There was nothing in his answer to warrant the flush he felt color his cheeks. The flush was all about  _ why _ Hunk had switched shifts… and the fact that it had been  _ completely unnecessary _ because Lance had jumped to conclusions like an idiot.

“So… you work Sunday, then? Wanna come to the Farmer’s Market with me in the morning?”

“You don’t cook, what are you buying at the Farmer’s Market?”

“He asks as he devours strawberries I bought  _ at the Farmer’s Market _ !” Shiro laughed, tossing a napkin at Keith. “What do you think, Lance? Forecast says it is supposed to be a nice day.”

“Sure,” he agreed readily, scrapping his half-formed back-up plan for the morning of sleeping in until Annie pestered him into feeding her. “Farmer’s Market sounds great- and for the record, Keith, I do cook.”

“Oh, I know, I’ve been stealing half of his lunch whenever he brings in your leftovers. I really like that stuff… it’s like a goopy cheesy rice?”

“Risotto? No… I’ve never given you leftover risotto,” Lance shifted in his seat trying to remember what Keith might be talking about.”

“The creamy orzo,” Shiro supplied. “He ate half… then finished it off and bought me a burger.”

“It was good!”

“I know! That’s why I brought some for my lunch!  _ My _ lunch!”

“It’s not that difficult a dish,” Lance said, chuckling at their bickering. “I can get you the recipe if you want.”

“Yeah, that’d be cool. Just... send it into work with this one.” Keith glanced at his phone, “alright- this has been fun, but I’ve got to head out. I’ve got a dog-walker, but if I’m any later, Kosmo is gonna  _ protest _ .”

“And you make fun of me for spoiling Pepper,” Shiro muttered, rising to escort Keith out.

“No cat needs that many toys, Shiro!” Keith offered his hand for Lance to shake. “Nice meeting you… again, I guess.”

“Yeah, I like you better when you aren’t coming at me with a sabre,” Lance chuckled, “nice meeting you, too.”

While they said their good-byes at the door, Lance moved to the couch- taking his and Shiro’s beers and the fruit tray with him- and turned on the tv. It was still early and he and Shiro usually unwound with some Netflix before heading back to their respective apartments.

Before long, Shiro was settling onto the couch beside him, his prosthetic slipping around Lance’s shoulders. Sighing happily, he snuggled into the warm strength of Shiro’s chest, enjoying the sound of his heartbeat in his ear. “I think that went okay,” he said after a few minutes.

“Yeah. It went great,” Shiro assured him. “If Keith didn’t like you, you’d know. He’s not really one to mince words or play nice for my sake.”

“Well… that’s good to know. I guess I was a nervous wreck for nothing.”

“You were a nervous wreck?” Shiro asked, feigning ignorance, because he was the sweetest man in the world. There was no way that he’d missed how jumpy and awkward Lance had been at the start of the evening.

“Mmm… you couldn’t tell, because I am just that smooth.” Tipping his head up, he smiled at Shiro, who leaned down to kiss him, taking his time with it. Lance never got bored with Shiro’s kisses. They always managed to surprise him somehow. The surge of reaction to them always a little stronger, a little more immediate than he remembered. Purring happily, he craned up into the kiss, twisting in Shiro’s arms until they were all tangled up and the tv was thoroughly forgotten.

He had no idea how long they’d been distracted when they finally drifted apart on soft sighs and affectionate little nuzzles, their breathing ragged. He cuddled back into Shiro’s chest with a contented murmur. Shiro threaded his fingers through Lance’s hair, “you sure you want to come to the Farmer’s Market with me tomorrow? We’d have to go pretty early to make sure all the produce isn’t picked over.”

“Mmmhmm… I don’t mind waking up early, babe… Not if it is for a date with you.”

“I love you, you know that, right?”

“Mmhmm… I think I’ve figured that out,” he teased. “Plus, you know… you tell me all the time. I love you, too.”

“I know… you tell me all the time, too. So… I was thinking… since you brought a bag… you should probably stay here tonight.”

“I came straight from the gym,” he protested, repeating the little white lie he’d told to explain the backpack.

Shiro caught him under the chin with one finger and gently tipped his head up, smiling fondly at him, “I know what your gym bag looks like, sweetheart. It’s not a backpack.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“I can explain.”

“You don’t have to. I figured it out when you didn’t know what we were having for dinner. I wasn’t clear… I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong, babe. I… was an idiot.”

Shiro shook his head, “you weren’t. You’re never an idiot… and I want you to stay. We don’t… nothing has to happen. But I want you to stay. I want to wake up with you in the morning and go to the Farmer’s Market together.”

He bit his lip, debating. This was probably something they should talk about. Plan for. But… technically… wasn’t  _ this _ talking about it? Shiro didn’t have to bring it up. He had no reason to say anything unless… “You’re sure?” 

“Yes. I’m sure. Alright?” The little smile on Shiro’s face was pleased. Eager. He knew Lance had already made up his mind. Knew he just needed a little reassurance.

“Okay. I’ll stay,” he whispered against Shiro’s lips as he kissed him with every scrap of love he felt for him.


End file.
